


the space you left behind

by french_fries



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Ambiguous Sibling Relationship, Angst, Brother-Sister Relationships, Drabble, F/M, Gen, Open to Interpretation, Separation Anxiety, Sibling Love, sfw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:48:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22278151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/french_fries/pseuds/french_fries
Summary: Weeks after that painful separation, Soren was still haunted by nightmares of it.Some nights, he wished she was still here, holding him in her arms and warding off bad dreams like she once would.
Relationships: Claudia & Soren & Viren (The Dragon Prince), Claudia/Soren (The Dragon Prince), Soren & Viren (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 13





	the space you left behind

**Author's Note:**

> I don't remember why I started writing this piece but I was just reminded of the brodigies and became sad so I poured that feeling into this random drabble :")

He wished it was just a bad, bad dream.

Soren had a hard time accepting the fact that his Father had turned evil when it first dawned on him. Yet, he had time to grow accustomed to the notion that the man was no longer the ingenious patriarch he once knew and looked up to. That person was gone and had turned into someone... _something_ he didn't know.

What was harder to accept was the mere idea that Claudia, his sweet little sister Claudia, was unable to see past their Father's previously established image. He couldn't blame her, really. Viren had genuinely loved her; a fact Soren had dreaded with all his life. 

When Soren finally learned the hard way how little he mattered to his Father, his first instinct was to escape this toxic illusion of a family he had spent years believing. Next was to save Claudia from it, too. Bring her with him and run far, far away. 

But she had refused. Looking so incredibly hurt to be put in the position to choose again.

He loved her, he really did. They had proven that to each other many, many times before. Since they were young children, they only had each other to depend on emotionally. Their shared trauma had morphed them into the tight, loving siblings that they were known for today. It was all those nights he had held her in his arms when their parents would go on and on with arguments over increasingly trivial matters. All those times she had whispered good words to him when Viren would make him feel less of himself, again and again.

It made her refusal so much more painful to bear.

It hit Soren that this was it for their love. Their bond. From this point on, it was just her and their Father's. 

_Goodbye, Clauds..._

Claudia had tried to make him stay by showing him that sad, sad look she knew he would do and give anything for. But he had thought back into the monster his Father had become and the fact that if he returned, he would not survive. He didn't mind dying for the King or his family. 

But that monster was no longer his family.

Claudia was, and she was the only one left. He wanted to protect her himself, but he wouldn't be able to if he was dead. Viren wouldn't hurt her; he loved her too much.

It would've been fine to leave her with him for a while. Only until he was strong enough to stand against their Father and bring her back... right?

When Claudia screamed at him for leaving, it reminded him of when they were young children. When there was still that luxury to actually act like one. She would scream the same way when she'd wanted him to give her something. He would be annoyed, but would relent anyways. Because he was her big brother. He would do anything for her as she would him.

Because he loved her and always would.

Nobody had ever understood him like she did. They had shared so many memories together that it was simply so easy to. She would know what he felt before he ever needed to say it. Sometimes, even better than he knew himself.

Soren had spent the first few days riding towards the Storm Spire crying and regretting his choice, wishing he could just run back into her embrace and apologize. To stay with her. Only to spring back and snap himself out of it. If he wanted to save Claudia, he had to do this. He had to take down their Father and force Claudia to see what was wrong. 

He had expected to run into her or Viren during the battle, but not the way it had played out. Not the fuckery that was their family reunion with Viren about to stab the King, Soren stabbing his Father, and Claudia being made to watch. Soren had been shaken by his own action that not even himself had expected.

Claudia... Claudia was furious. Disappointed. Betrayed.

_I... I had no choice._

More than anything, the look on her face hurt him. But it was over, right? They could both escape the clutches of their Father's cycle of abuse. Nothing would ever be the same anymore but both of them were alive. That's the important thing. Anything else could be mended with time. Right?

Soren hated that brief wave of relief that overtook him when Viren's body transformed into a group of moths. He was supposed to be furious, but he was firstly relieved that he didn't just kill his parent. Yet it quickly dawned onto him moments later that, to Claudia, it was a betrayal all the same.

This time, a betrayal and a Father who was still alive and would continue sinking his claws into Claudia and never letting her go. Neither would she ever want to, now.

Soren watched these scenes play out like a broken record in his head when it was too quiet. When the sun disappeared and darkness invaded. When he laid in bed, fruitlessly counting sheep. Haunting him. Trapping him in an unforgiving cycle of regret and self-justification.

Again and again. Again and again.

Soren couldn't sleep for weeks. It was some of the worst days of his life; only bearable because he knew it was the right thing to do and he had his friends constantly reaffirm it for him. Still, when they weren't by his side, his stubborn little mind would start playing it out again. The mere pain and the withdrawal that followed was only comparable to the time his Mother had left their family.

Back then, he had Claudia with him. 

On the third night, Soren found himself in Claudia's old room. It was exactly how they had left it before their journey to Xadia. The rows of preserved animal parts she'd collected to decorate her room were still there. She had always been fascinated by these things ever since she was a little girl who couldn't count to twenty. Long before she had performed her first magic spell.

Claudia's room was frozen in time now that its dweller wasn't going back. It was just a matter of time until someone spoke up about demolishing it or transforming it into something else. Then, Soren would lose all the memories in this room, too.

Initially, Soren had considered visiting his Father's study to hopefully feel something. But he'd guessed it would be too much bad memories and feelings stemming from many, many past arguments that had played out there.

Claudia's room was where he would go to after every one of those explosive arguments. 

Never once had she pushed him away or made him feel like a burden. She would accept him unconditionally and held him until he'd felt better. Whispering good words as she gently ran her fingers through his hair. She would tell him jokes or bake him sweet treats or act all silly. Staying with him until he was ready to be himself and face the world again.

 _He_ does _love you, you know,_ she would reassure him every single time, cradling him in her arms and running her fingers through his hair so lovingly. _He's just bad at showing it._ Now, it only emphasized the lies.

Had she always known their Father never loved him but just wanted to keep the family together by lying? Or did she genuinely believe it like he once did?

Soren remembered how genuine her smile was when she'd told him that. How genuine the love and adoration in her eyes was. Touches so loving he could melt under them. It couldn't be a lie, right? Even if his Father's love was a lie, Claudia's wasn't. He always felt loved in her presence; with her every touch and every smile and that explosion of laughter for his every pun. That feeling couldn't be a lie.

But he had once been convinced the same thing about Viren and he was painfully wrong. What if he was wrong about her love, too? What if it was just her way to make him obey? So he would do anything for her? That's what Viren did all his life. What if nobody had ever loved him in the first place?

No.

She healed him, didn't she? Even when he never asked her to. She did it out of her own goodwill. She had wiped his tears and reassured him that everything would be okay even though it scared her all the same. Because she loved him.

How could he have doubted her?

 _I hate feeling like this..._ Spiraling out of control, springing from thought to another opposing one and back like he was incapable of keeping his feelings in check. 

He missed her.

Soren had his fair share of being cold or mean to his sister sometimes, mostly because there were times when his jealousy towards her would get the better of him. But just knowing she was there in the vicinity calmed him. Knowing she would always be there for him whenever he decided to run to her soothed him.

It wasn't the case now.

Soren felt lost without her. So, so lost.

When he closed his eyes, it was the sound of her laughter. The brightness of her smiles that had kept him going. Because he wasn't done until he could take her back from the darkness that was swallowing her whole. Someday, they would be reunited. 

Soren curled on the bed, taking in what remained of her scent as it lingered around him like an embrace. Wishing she was here instead of the space the left behind.

Someday, he would be able to drift off in her arms again.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm happy with how much the Sordia tag has grown and how kindly this community has treated my first fic so I decided to contribute more!
> 
> The Sordia in this one is a little more obvious than my previous work hehe it's just ambiguous at best, though!


End file.
